The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-26
ON AND ABOUT LAKE LEMAN
Halford's Three Days Amid Scenes Rife
with Poetic and Historic Interest.
localities That Have Been lmmortalzed by
Goethe and Byron, Gibbon and DeStael-
Overcome by the Greatness of a Guide.

On THE CONTINENT ssSwitzerland). July, 1887.
This country is rife with poetic and historic
interest. Over every part of it Childe Harold
made his pilgrimage, and the locality OF the
Lauterbrunnen is the scene of Byrons poem
Manfred" They show you still the ruins OF
the castle where Manfred wooed and won his
bride. l forget whether l mentioned this before
Or not, bat recall it to say that, while Byron
has immortaized all this region, could not tnd
n copy Of his poems, look where would. Inc
hotels and pensions had plenty Of books. but OF
Byron n OF a copy The little local guides were
full of illusions TO the poems in which the places
figured, but that all. From Fr1bourg
short ride carried us to Lausanne, a rather
pretty little city, situated at the bend of the hall
moon into which Lake Leman shapes itself, with
Geneva at one end and Bouveret at the other
the points of entrance and emergence of the River
Rhone. spent pleasant Sunday at Lausanne.
The hotel was the Hotel Gibbon, and in the yard
was the spot where the historian wrote the last
pages of his great work. Here lived and wrote
Voltaire and Rousseau, and just underneath the
hill, In the village of Anchy, Byron wrote Inc
Prisoner of Chillon," in a room which IL still
used in the hotel for ordinary purposes Here
wrote Madame de Stael, and in the cathedral
Calvin held a disputation which resulted In the
transfer of the see to Fribourg. l attended
service in a beautiful little Presbyterian chapel,
maintained here, should judge, almost entirely
by and for the tourists and visitors. There were
not more than forty people present, but the
service full of interest The preacher was
a good soul, clerical looking. wearing the Geneva
gown, and giving the benefit of the full bill OF
fare. There were two psalms sung, and two
hymns. two Scripture lessons. four prayers-al
of them of average length-and a half-hour SER
-1-n Iroxr
water from the wells of salvation" I thought
the dear pastor earned his money, but as he
seemed to enjoy it. under the impression that
the people before him were not likely to get too
much of good thing could begrudge
him a minute of time. The three days spent
on Leman the lake fully earned its title OF
"Placid Leman" given it by Byron. 1t was
of glass all the time, its waters miraculous.
wonderful blue and the little villages that nestle
and sleep amid the vine-clad hills whose feet
slip into the clear depths, moro like a fanciful
stereoscopic view than actually. Within sight
are the clustered villages of Vesey of Carens, of
Montreux. and just around jutting Of land
Territet-Chillon, and near by its famous castle,
Coppet, with its memories of Neckar and De
Stael, can be seen with the aid of glass, and in
the other direction Chillon-ward, and, beyond,
the snow clad summit Of the Dent du Midi and
the Rhone glacier, from which the great river
takes its rise, and whose waters as they rush
into the lake, can be seen for long distance be-
fore they lose their tawny hue in the ultrama-
rine color of Leman. Goethe here, and
makes Lake Leman the theme of his eulogy.
Vesey Clarens was the locus of Rousseaus pas
sonats ''Nouvelle Heiose." A local guide book.
quite shocked with Rousseau says 'Clarens,
scene of Rousseau's 'Nouvele Helose,' is a
dust box at the foot of hill, and in
weather inspires other sentiments save those
OF WEAKNESS and dirt" In Vesey are buried Ed
ward Ludlow and Andrew Broughton. two of the
judges who condemned Charles l. Broughton
was the man who read the sentence of death to
the King They escaped here. and all the power
of England, after the restoration. not able
to get hold of them It is naively stated, In the
little church where their remains lie. that Lud-
low did not ndorse all the fanaticism of the Pro-
tector. 1 presume he would not have shown his
contempt for popery by turning beasts into mag
nifcent cathsdrals Bnt that is the only way
some people have of impressing the world with
the fact that they are for reform"
Chillon can be reached either by rail or water
took the water route, the boat landing at Ter
ritet- Chillon. about quarter of mile away
from the castle, the only purpose being SO far
as appears. to allow the boatmen who you
10 the place to make the three francs they charge
for the excursion. On the land side you
walk down the railway the few hundred yards.
and across the wooden bridge that connects the
rocks upon which the castle is built with the
main land-something less than one hundred
feet. By the lake the approach is rather from
the rear. and is by no means impressive Indeed,
the whole castle is quito a small affair. and looks
like anything else than a castle as it is brought
into view in the distance. l judge it's walls to
be not more than sixty feet high from water to
roof line. The two towers of irregular
height. the main one rising twenty or thirty
feet above the broken lines of the roof. 1t is
built OF dirty yellow stone, and the roof is of
re6dish-gray thing, stained with age. On the
lake side, which is rounded in accordance with
the outline of the rocky foundation, there are
two rows of small windows. not more than
twelve thirteen in number. which to
light the two stories of the castle that are above
the dungeon cells, and into which Sits in the
walls are the only means of access TO light and
Ar On the main front of the castle as it is ap-
preached from the south. some patriot has paint
ed in water-colors a large shield, in which
the words 'Liberte ct Patrie." This was evil
IDENTIFY done after Byron's poem had brought it
into the tourist route. and the cheap artist
thought it appropriate decoration. A busting
French woman who speaks no English but who
hands the "Anglais' sheet of note paper on
which. by numbers, the several rooms of the |
Iastle briefly described, is the cicerone of the
place. At the conclusion of the tour she makes
40 distinction in the collection of the franc fee.
You are shown the rooms of the Duke and |
Duchess of Savoy, the chapel, the dining hall, |
the reception room of the dukes. on the walls of |
which are painted the of arms of the sue
eessive rulers Of Savoy, and then, on the lower
floor, the military guardroom. the chapel the
sale de justice, the torture room and pillar the
rack upon which condemned prisoners spent
their last night, the opening through
which their bodies were thrown into tie lake.
aud, finally, the prison of Downward with the
iron staple and ring in the pillar to which tradi-